In the final month of 2020, a total of 26 law enforcement officers died in the line of duty. Of those line of duty deaths, 19 were the result of COVID, 4 were the result of gunfire (3 felonious, 1 inadvertent), 2 were auto-related (1 motorcycle crash, 1 struck by vehicle), and 1 was the result of 9/11-related cancer.
The final number of line of duty deaths in 2020 currently stands at 304, which is more than double the 2019 total. Without doubt, 2020 was the deadliest year for law enforcement in almost a century. The last time annual line of duty deaths topped 300 was in 1932.
In addition, a further 200+ potential line of duty COVID deaths are still pending verification, which means that 2020 may end up being the deadliest year for law enforcement in all of U.S. history.
The Officer Down Memorial Page extends our condolences to the families, friends, and agencies who lost a loved one to a line of duty death. We ask our supporters to take a moment to read the memorials of those officers who died in the line of duty in December 2020 and remember the fallen.
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| Deputy Sheriff Jared Michael Allison Nash County Sheriff's Office (NC) |
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| Chief Deputy Constable M. Wayne Rhodes Denton County Constable's Office - Precinct 2 (TX) |
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| Detective Sergeant Te'Juan Fontrese "T.J." Johnson Charlestown Police Department (IN) |
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| Officer Jose A. Santana U.S. Dept of Homeland Security - Customs and Border Protection - Office of Field Operations (U.S. Govt) |
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| Officer Jose A. Santana U.S. Dept of Homeland Security - Customs and Border Protection - Office of Field Operations (U.S. Govt) |
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| Patrolman Cassie Marie Johnson Charleston Police Department (WV) |
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| Sergeant Herschel Turner Moline Acres Police Department (MO) |
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| Captain Billy DeWayne Allen, Sr. U.S. Dept of Defense - Fort Sill Police Department (U.S. Govt) |
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| Sergeant Lyle Gene Denny Panhandle Police Department (TX) |
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| Corrections Officer V Timothy Beggs Texas Department of Criminal Justice - Correctional Institutions Division (TX) |
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| Police Officer Tyler Avery Herndon Mount Holly Police Department (NC) |
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| Master Corporal Norman Daye, Jr. Guilford County Sheriff's Office (NC) |
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| Lieutenant Russell Freeman Rhode Island Department of Corrections (RI) |
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| Corrections Officer IV Harold Paul "Skip" Smith, Jr.Beggs Texas Department of Criminal Justice - Correctional Institutions Division (TX) |
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| Police Officer Jason Nicholas Shuping Concord Police Department (NC) |
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| Sheriff Benny N. Napoleon Wayne County Sheriff's Office (MI) |
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| Officer Andrew Raymond Bouchard Texas Department of Criminal Justice - Correctional Institutions Division (TX) |
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| Lieutenant Craig L. King Tarrant County Sheriff's Office (TX) |
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| Police Officer Christopher Lynn Elder Milford Police Department (TX) |
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| Sergeant David Lynn Schmidt Seagoville Police Department (TX) |
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| Security Control Specialist Jerry William Jones Tarrant County Sheriff's Office (TX) |
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| Corrections Officer V Phillip Holbert Texas Department of Criminal Justice - Correctional Institutions Division (TX) |
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| Officer Randall Versie Smith Birmingham Police Department (AL) |
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| Corrections Officer V Joe Landin Texas Department of Criminal Justice - Correctional Institutions Division (TX) |
